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• 12:49 PM: Good day and welcome

  to VeloNews.com's Live Coverage of the 20th stage of the 91st edition of the Giro d'Italia, a 224-kilometer race from Rovetta to Tirano, highlighted by three climbs along the way:
  At 90km, riders begin the 17km climb up the Category 1 Passo Gavia (2618m)
  At 160km, riders begin the 15km climb up the Category 1 Passo del Mortirolo (1854m)
  and the third, the Category 2 Aprica (1173m), begins at 191km and lasts 16km.

  Right now, the peloton is intact at the 69km mark. The pace today has been a very moderate 33.6kph for the opening two hours. These guys know what's ahead. It is interesting, however, that we're not seeing attacks from the usual early breaks, groups of headbangers intent on snagging a stage win.

• 12:52 PM: The race

  is certainly up for grabs today. Who would have predicted that the top-three contenders of a grand tour would be separated by four and 21 seconds, with just two stages remaining. It certainly puts a lot of weight not only on today's stage, but on the time trial tomorrow. Keep in mind, too, that the man in fourth place is none other than Marzio Bruseghin, a very talented time trialist and no slouch as a climber.

• 12:58 PM: A foray

  We finally have an attack.

  One-time race leader Gabriele Bosisio (L.P.R.) is now 18th on GC, at 29:27, so he doesn't really pose much of a threat to the overall. He's giving it a go and at 73km he has 14 seconds... and that after three kilometers of trying to get a gap. They may not be interested in seeing him - or anyone else for that matter - slip off the front.

• 01:03 PM: The Gavia
  Of course, with this being the 20th anniversary of Andy Hampsten's Giro victory, you've been hearing a lot about the Gavia. Even in good weather that climb deserves its reputation as one of the most spectacular climbs in cycling. The Gavia is this year's Cima Coppi, the highest point of the Giro. It rises to an altitude of 2618 meters. The official part of the climb is 16.5km long, which includes 1361 meters of rise at an average of 8.2 percent. It hits 16 percent at points along the way.

• 01:05 PM: At 77km

  Bosisio has extended his lead to 22 seconds.

  One of yesterday's escapees, High Road's Kanstantsin Siutsou has dropped out of the Giro. We do not know if it is from simple exhaustion, or if he's had an accident. We'll try to find out.

• 01:09 PM: After the Gavia

  life gets tougher. While the Gavia is the Cat. 1 Passo del Mortirolo. It's shorter and not as high as the Gavia, but it makes up for that in steepness. The 12.8km climb rises 1317 meters, meaning that it averages 10.3 percent, and it features ramps as steep as 18 percent. Yehaw.

• 01:11 PM: Chasing

  Venezuelan Jose Ochoa (Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni) is giving chase. He is just a few hundred meters ahead of the peloton and.... uhhhh, scratch that. He's been caught. Bosisio, meanwhile remains 20 seconds ahead of the field at the 79km mark.

• 01:13 PM: Drop us a line

  If you have a comment, complaint or question, go ahead and hit the "contact our editors" link below the Live Update Window. We'll try to answer as many questions as we can and even post a few along the way... although with things going crazy on the Gavia and the Mortirolo, we may not have a lot of time to post much other than race reports today.

• 01:21 PM: At 85km

  Bosisio is holding a 22 second lead over the peloton. They ain't giving him much of a leash, are they?

• 01:22 PM: A visit from a Gavia hero

  Word has it that Andy Hampsten is on the Gavia summit today. The plan is for him to be handing out rain jackets to the riders. David Millar is hoping to get a photo with him up there. He better be with the front group, because most photographers won't be hanging around that long.

• 01:25 PM: The weather

  It's mostly cool and cloudy today. We don't expect to see weather, say, as bad as the 1988 trip up the Gavia, but there is some chill in the air, so riders will have to bundle up on the way down.

  On the road, it looks like Mr. Bosisio has been rounded up.

• 01:26 PM: Ricco

  Riccard Ricco was the center of attention at the sign-in today. He promises to attack to try to dislodge the pink jersey from Contador. When asked if he would repeat his criticisms he leveled agains CSF-Navigare, the Cobra said: "No, they would be worse!"

• 01:28 PM: Approaching the base of the climb

  We're seeing several attacks and counter attacks, but no one is getting much distance.

• 01:29 PM: Contador's hope

  We heard a few words from Alberto Contador before the start. He looked very serious and quiet, adding: "Yesterday was the most dangerous stage. The Mortirolo is hard, but it's a matter of finding a rhythm and getting over it. There's a lot of road to the finish to organize a chase. We're hoping to exploit some common interests among the Italians for our benefit."

• 01:31 PM: Garate

  One of our favorites, Juan Miguel Garate is taking a stab at the base of the climb. He's not getting a lot of distance.

  Back in the field, Paolo Savoldelli has punctured.

• 01:32 PM: McCartney

  Our own Andrew Hood chatted with Jason McCartney (CSC) before the stage: "I'm feeling pretty good in the final week. I'll just spin up the climb today and try to find a group to survive today. I'd like to do well in tomorrow's time trial. It's too bad that it's totally flat, because I can carry speed over some hills better than most guys."

  McCartney also said: "I finish the Giro Sunday, fly to the USA on Monday, and race in Philly week starting Tuesday." No rest for the weary

• 01:34 PM: We have a group of four riders

  Garate, Ochoa, Possoni and Horrach working ahead of the field. They only have about 10 or 11 seconds, though.

• 01:37 PM: Now we have

  some re-shuffling and we have a group of six, which includes Rujano, Petrov and Perez Cuapio. Rujano looks to be back in fighting shape since joining Caisse d'Epargne. The elfish Venezuelan has only offered a shadow of his performance in the 2005 Giro, finishing third, taking the KoM jersey and winning a stage.

• 01:44 PM: Things are breaking apart

  José Rujano Guillen (Caisse d'Epargne) has moved ahead on the climb. The peloton is getting closer, so it may have prompted him to pour on the gas a little.

• 01:48 PM: At 95km

  The peloton is working its way up the Gavia and things are busting up pretty nicely. Still, the big players are mostly packed together, with Petrov and Perez Caupio about 28 seconds ahead of the maglia rosa group.

• 01:49 PM: The roads

  are wet on the climb, but it's not raining now. There is little to no chance of snow today.

• 01:54 PM: At 100km

  the situation on the road: We have Julio Alberto Perez Cuapio (CSF Group Navigare) and Evgeni Petrov (Tinkoff) now being joined by José Rujano Guillen (Caisse d'Epargne). They are trailed by Kevin Seeldrayers (Quick Step) who is at about five seconds. There is another group of five riders at 28 seconds and then the maglia rosa group, with all the big names on GC packed together at 38 seconds.

• 01:57 PM: Calm... (before the storm?)

  Johan Bruyneel was pretty calm before the start: "Yesterday was the most dangerous stage. Today the most important thing is to keep the pink jersey. Maybe it won't be possible, but it's better to have the pink jersey going into the final time trial than facing the task of winning it back. It's an important psychological advantage."

• 01:59 PM: Prize money

  You don't get rich by winning the Giro - first-place prize is only about 90,000 euros, which you then get to divide among your teammates.

• 01:59 PM: The man in fourth place

  Marzio Bruseghin said before the start that he hasn't given up on trying to reach the podium, but admitted it's going to be difficult: "If I can stay with the favorites, I might have a chance in the final time trial. Maybe I can take a minute, maximum 1-minute, 30-second. If I have a good day today and a great ride tomorrow, perhaps I'll end up on the podium."

• 02:03 PM: Race radio

  reports that Andreas Kloden has pulled out.

• 02:04 PM: Nearing the top

  it looks like Perez has about 10 seconds on Rujano and 18 on Petrov. The big concern, the maglia rosa group, is staying relatively intact.

• 02:09 PM: Nearing the top

  It looks like Perez Cuapio will win the Cima Coppi prize. There is a bonus paid to the guy who gets that and it looks like the Mexican rider has had that in mind today.

  The group with bigger fish to fry - the overall prize - is about 1:48 back with no real attacks coming from any of the major contenders.

• 02:17 PM: Over the top

  Perez Cuapio has won the Cima Copi. He is working his way down the long descent of the Gavia. The peloton is still at 1:50 or so, with several riders - none of significan GC consequence - in between.

• 02:20 PM: In other news

  Belgian wire services are reporting that Cadel Evans has knee problems ahead of next month's Dauphine Libere. Team reports that Evans strained his knee during a training camp in Sierra Nevada and will skip a scouting trip the Alps ahead of the Tour. The team says he will race both the Dauphine and Tour.

• 02:22 PM: He's tough... just not original

  Danilo Di Luca seems to be stuck on quote repeat - he said the same thing this morning that he said after blowing up yesterday's stage: "The Giro won't be over until the final kilometer of Sunday's final time trial in Milan. Never count out the Killer."

  Mmmm... not only does he refer to himself in the third person, he uses his nickname to refer to himself in the third person.

• 02:28 PM: Time gap

  the gap back to the maglia rosa group is actually up to 3:45 now. The men off the front, however are not those who pose any significant threat to the race leader. They may get a stage win, but Contador, Ricco and Di Luca are still together and, it looks like, they may be fighting things out on the next climb, the Cat. 1 Mortirolo.

• 02:35 PM: Sorting it out

  At the top of the climb, we had Julio Alberto Perez Cuapio (CSF Group Navigare) crest the summit 35 seconds ahead of Jose Rujano Guillen (Caisse d'Epargne) and 45 ahead of Antonio Colom (Astana), Fortunato Baliani (CSF Group Navigare) and Evgeny Petrov (Tinkoff).

  Charles Wegelius (Liquigas), Felix Cardenas (Barloworld) and Kevin Seeldraeyers (Quick Step) came across at 1:07, followed by the maglia rosa group at about 2:00.

  The roads are wet. The rain is falling and the Gavia offers up some dangerous corners on a steep and narrow descent.

• 02:37 PM: Rujano

  may be a great climber, but the little guy is at a disadvantage on the descent. He's been caught and passed by several riders.

• 02:44 PM: Coming down the mountain

  We have Perez Cuapio at the front, leading Baliani and Contador's lieutenant Antonio Colom by about 30 seconds. Petrov and Rujano are at 1:52 and Liquigas's Charly Wegelius is at 2:40.

  The cautious pink jersey group is at 3:25

• 02:47 PM: Average speeds

  With four hours in the saddle, we've seen an average speed of just 30.1kph. That's due only in part to the Gavia. The long approach to the climb today was quite slow today.

• 02:50 PM: Perez Cuapio

  has been caught by Colom and Baliani. They are now at the 129km mark and still working their way down this long, long, long descent.

• 02:52 PM: Kloden news

  We just talked with Astana press chief about Kloden: "He was already sick for the past week. We didn't tell anyone because then our rivals would think the team is weak and attack us more. He was a great teammate to Contador yesterday, but he went too deep. The team doctor says he might have a lung infection. He helped Contador save the maglia rosa yesterday."

• 02:54 PM: Weather

  at the finish are quite moderate. It's still raining up on the Gavia and riders are still on wet roads.

• 02:58 PM: At km 132

  We have Colom, Baliani and Cuapio riding together, some 48 seconds ahead of Petrov. Rujano is now back with Cardenas at 2:40. The peloton - with Contador and Leipheimer and all of the big GC players - is at 5:15.

• 03:00 PM: On dry roads

  Our three leaders are zooming down the road through Bormio.

  Ahead it looks like they have some fresh pavement on the Mortirolo. The Giro often brings road repairs to local towns and highways, much appreciated by local residents. We saw a sign yesterday that read: "Thanks, Giro, they finally fixed our roads!"

• 03:03 PM: CSF

  those boys must have magical muisli. They have been on the attack throughout the mountain stages. Right now, we have Baliani and Cuapio plowing ahead, with Colom there monitoring the action. He won't help the break. His job today is to be there when Contador needs him.

• 03:08 PM: At 144km

  the gap back to the maglia rosa group is 5:20.

• 03:09 PM: Correction

  the maglia rosa group is at 6:00.

• 03:15 PM: The first chase

  We have Wegelius, Rujano, Petrov and Cardenas are all together. They trail the leading trio by 2:30.

  The peloton is composed of about 50 riders and they are at 5:30.

• 03:19 PM: Still dropping

  As you can see from the stage profile, the road down to the base of the Passo del Mortirolo is long. The speeds are quite high, but it's a long way down.

• 03:37 PM: Sorry

  we had something of a problem on our end here.

  Anyway, the situation on the road is that the Wegelius group was pulled back by the peloton. LPR and Diquigiovanni-Androni are at the front, trimming the gap to the leading trio to 3:40. Contador has Iglinsky and Leipheimer with him

• 03:39 PM: At the climb

  The leading trio has just hit the base of the Mortirolo. They've got a 3:40 headstart on the main pack, led by LPR and Diquigiovanni-Androni. Contador has Leipheimer and Iglisky with him in the maglia rosa group, reduced to about 50 or so riders

• 03:42 PM: As expected

  Colom is just hanging with the two CSF riders. He's not doing anything.

  Wow, look at the time! Five hours of racing - and the Mortirolo still to come!

• 03:43 PM: The peloton

  is on the lower ramps of the Mortirolo and the climb is already shelling the peloton. Riders like Bettini are dropping off the back. Bertolini is setting a fast pace at the front of the group.

• 03:44 PM: Contador

  is keeping tabs on the men that he has to worry about: Ricco and Di Luca. Simoni is looking determined on the front. He promises to attack today in what's likely his last big shot at Giro glory.

• 03:45 PM: Savoldelli

  has been dropped. He smiles for the camera, but he's not going to be there to help Di Luca.

• 03:46 PM: POP!

  Perez Cuapio has blown at the front - only Baliani and Colom are leading now.

• 03:49 PM: With the pink jersey

  Faces we can see in the Contador group: Di Luca, Contador, Ricco, Simoni, Menchov, Sella, Van den Broeck, Leipheimer, Larsson, Iglisky. Bertolini is still drilling it at the front.

• 03:51 PM: Leipheimer

  Leipheimer is riding strong - right on Bertolini's wheel. Ricco is looking around ... getting antsy?

  Now LPR has taken over at the front ... looks like Leipheimer is fading to the back of the Contador group, Gusev just came up for another set of legs for Astana.

  These are steep, steep and very narrow roads... but a nice surface.

• 03:52 PM: How steep?

  How steep is the Mortirolo? Well, up front Baliani's speed is 8kph ... he might fall over going that slow. Perez Cuapio is trailing by a minute and the Contador group is at 3:10.

• 03:54 PM: There goes Ryder

  Hesjedal just got dropped out of the Contador group. He's not doing bad to hang that long with the big boys.

• 03:55 PM: Trailing

  Leipheimer is working to hang on to the front group - with Matt Lloyd.

  It's sunny, muggy up the tree-lined road, good-sized crowds, but not the huge crowds from the Pantani-era

• 03:56 PM: Simoni

  takes a dig. Ricco reacts.... but so do Contador Menchov. That acceleration may have hurt the guys at the back of this group.

  There goes Sella. Ricco reacts... and Contador.

• 03:59 PM: The incredible

  shrinking peloton...

  The Contador group is down to a dozen. Leipheimer is still at back. The key for him is to get down the Mortirolo to help tow Contador up the Aprica.

  Now Rodriguez surges away, with Sella in tow. And look. Bruseghin struggling, so is Di Luca.

• 04:01 PM: Pellizotti

  is having a tough time hanging on. Sella has about eight riders with him, including Contador and Ricco and Menchov and Leipheimer. Di Luca is struggling to catch back on.

• 04:03 PM: Slow motion

  this is a really tough climb and all of the action looks to be taking place in slo-mo:
  
  Bruseghin, Pellizotti and then Di Luca were struggling to match the pace set by Riccò and Sella. Contador, Menchov, Rodriguez, Simoni, Van den Broeck are okay.

  Di Luca slooooowly crawls back into the group and now Bruseghin, Pellizotti are back.

  Up front Colom has dropped Baliani. He looks set to go over the Mortirolo on his own.

• 04:03 PM: Gibo!

  Simoni goes again. Ricco responds... Contador, but behind, the guys who just made it back on are going to suffer.

• 04:05 PM: Simoni picks it up again

  Ricco is looking around he has Contador on his wheel.

  And now Menchov goes.

  Di Luca has been dropped.

• 04:07 PM: Sella

  goes. He gets company and then Ricco takes a dig. Contador is holding his own. All we have in that group are Sella, Simoni, Menchov, Ricco, Sella.

  Di Luca is suffering and trailing.

  Up front, Colom is nearing the top.

• 04:08 PM: The situation

  in the maglia rosa group. We have Menchov, Sella, Pozzovivo, Ricco, Rodriguez ... with Di Luca, Simoni, Bruseghin, Van den Broeck and Pellizotti trailing by about 10 seconds.

• 04:10 PM: Ricco

  sure doesn't have any allies in this group. If he wants to take on Contador, he won't get any help.

• 04:12 PM: Pozzovivo

  setting temp in the Contador group. We see Sella, Contador, Ricco, Menchov in there.

  Contador is hanging in there. He doesn't look the freshest in the world; but who does on the Mortirolo??

• 04:13 PM: Colom

  has 40 seconds on Baliani as he nears the top. The Contador group is at 2:15. Di Luca and Bruseghin are trailing that crew by 20 seconds.

• 04:15 PM: Di Luca

  Di Luca is struggling to match the Bruseghin group. He's now 40 seconds behind the Contador group. Simoni, meanwhile, is now back with the Contador group.

• 04:16 PM: The big contenders

  Colom and Baliani aside, the big race is right there with the Contador group.

  There, we have Contador, Simoni, Menchov, Ricco, Pozzovivo, Sella and Rodriguez about 40 seconds ahead of Bruseghin, Van den Broeck and Pellizotti, with Di Luca trailing another 10 seconds, or so, back.

• 04:18 PM: As the slope

  eases a bit, Di Luca is fighting his way back to the Bruseghin. That's a good sign, since he only has the Category 2 climb once he gets over the top of this one.

  Meanwhile, Colom is still climbing, but he's getting close to the top.

• 04:19 PM: Di Luca

  is now trailing Bruseghin by about 20 seconds. He's having a tough time.

• 04:23 PM: Sella

  is now taking over at the front of the Contador group. Interestingly, the CSF team will have three riders in the elite group today. Baliani is ahead and will be caught by the Contador group, so we'll have Pozzovivo, Sella and Baliani from CSF. Everyone else in that group - Contador, Simoni, Menchov, Ricco, and Rodriguez - are the sole representatives of their team. Of those, Contador has Colom up the road, too, though.

• 04:26 PM: Colom

  is now 1:24 ahead of the Contador group.

  The Astana man is still climbing, and working his way through huge crowds. These guys - the fans - have been up here since last night, since the roads have been closed. Many of them are... to put it mildly, a little tanked.

  Menchov puts on the pressure.

• 04:27 PM: Menchov

  Menchov could still make the podium if he can distance Di Luca, Bruseghin and Pellizotti.

  The Contador group is about to pick up Baliani.

  Colom goes over the top.

• 04:29 PM: The Contador

  group summits at 38 seconds.

  Bruseghin comes over at 1:02, Pellizotti at 1:21.

• 04:30 PM: Di Luca

  summits at 2:02.

  Di Luca was getting some pushes as he rode through a tunnel of humanity. Some may be welcome, but one bonehead almost knocked him over.

• 04:31 PM: Di Luca

  is putting in a big effort on the descent. This is a steep, steep drop and the road is just as narrow on the way down as it was on the way up.

• 04:33 PM: The road

  is wet on this side of the climb. It doesn't look like it's raining, but it looks like it just did.

• 04:37 PM: The day's final climb

  is the Category 2 Aprica. But it's not a mountain-top finish.

  Right now, though, Colom is still 18 seconds off the front. This is a dicey descent.

• 04:40 PM: A little rain

  Colom is riding through the rain. It's just a sprinkle.

  He may be getting pulled back by the Contador group. Bruseghin, Pellizotti are latching on to the back of the Contador group.

• 04:41 PM: The Killer

  Di Luca chasing desperately trying to catch a wheel. He's isolated, 1:20 behind the Contador group.

• 04:43 PM: Colom

  is off of the narrow roads and has turned on to nice wide pavement. Rodriguez leading the way for the Contador group. Karpets is catching Di Luca.

• 04:45 PM: Cramping

  Pellizotti shaking out his legs. They're still heading downhill, but they're off the most dangerous part of the Mortirolo descent.

  Di Luca and Karpets are at 1:30, while the Contador group is closing in on Colom. Contador will have some help.

• 04:46 PM: Keep in mind

  that time bonuses could play a role today. With the top-two separated by four seconds, it would be huge at the finish if this comes in for a sprint. Ricco could take the win and a 20-second bonus to take the jersey.

  Colom has been caught with 35km to go.

• 04:48 PM: Karpets and Di Luca

  are chasing like crazy.

  The Cat. 2 climb up Aprica doesn't really provide any terrain to attack - it would only present difficulties if a rider was isolated or on a food bonk. Contador doesn't look to have either, Di Luca ... well, we'll see.

• 04:50 PM: Di Luca

  and Karpets are now trailing the leaders by a minute.

  On the climb now, Sella attacks. That puts the pressure on Ricco, because Sella will be out grabbing up time bonuses.

• 04:54 PM: Sella

  is still off the front, by 15 seconds. Di Luca and Karpets are still trailing Contador by 1:01.

• 04:55 PM: Rodriguez

  is now trying to bridge up to Sella. He's not a GC threat, so it's doubtful that he's going to be chased down.

• 04:56 PM: To clear it up

  We have Sella now leading Simoni by about 12 seconds and Rodriguez and then the Contador group at 22.

• 04:58 PM: The Killer

  is dead... he's lost 45 seconds over the past few kilometers,

  The situation on the road: We have Sella leading Simoni by 13 seconds; Rodriguez is at 34 seconds and the Contador group is at 50.

• 04:59 PM: Discussion

  Ricco is trying to convince Contador to do some chasing. Ha! Now way Ricarrdo. By the way, do you hear that? That's the Spanish putting the champagne on ice in Milan.

  But it ain't over yet - the descent off the Aprica is tricky, especially toward the bottom. From there, it's dead flat in the final 5km in a wide-open valley with some gusty winds. Contador can't afford to let Ricco take bonuses, so having Simoni, Rodriquez and Sella up the road is perfect.

• 05:03 PM: Time gaps

  Sella is now 28 seconds ahead of Simoni and 54 on Rodriguez. The Contador group is being driven by Bruseghin, who has an interest in putting as much time as possible on Di Luca, who is 2:22 behind Sella.

  Sella has 25km to go.

• 05:04 PM: Rodriguez is

  back in the Contador group. Menchov leads that bunch through at 1:06 behind Sella.

• 05:07 PM: Sella

  is now 23 seconds ahead of Simoni.

  Menchov and Bruseghin are doing the bulk of the work at the front of the Contador group. Both men are looking to put time on DiLuca, who is now 52 seconds behind.

• 05:09 PM: Sella

  is now a minute ahead of Simoni and the maglia rosa group is closing in on Gibo, just 35 seconds back.

  Di Luca is losing time again.

• 05:12 PM: Ricco

  has moved to the front of the pink jersey group, but he's not getting rid of anyone.

  Sella is now hitting the top of the Aprica, so he's at 207.3km.

• 05:14 PM: Simoni

  hits the top at 1:10.

  He's a good descender. He may catch the skinny little Sella.

  The Contador group crosses at 1:45

• 05:17 PM: Karpets and Di Luca

  Crest the Aprica 4:15 behind Sela. That's 2:30 off of the Contador group's time. Ouch.

• 05:20 PM: Sella

  is now 1:10 ahead of Simoni and 1:40 ahead of the Contador group.

• 05:23 PM: Rodriguez

  is ahead of the Contador group again. He attacked pm the twisty descent. Ricco may be motivated to chase, because with three guys off the front, that would eat up all the time bonuses.

  Sella is now 50 seconds ahead of Simoni and 1:15 ahead of Rodriquez and 1:34 ahead of the group.

  The roads are dry, but the turns are tight.

• 05:25 PM: Sella

  has bumped his lead back out to 58 seconds, although he almost over-cooked a turn.

• 05:27 PM: Man

  so did Gibo'... that's a tight one.

  Rodriguez is now 35 seconds ahead of the Contador group.

• 05:27 PM: Five km to go

  for Sella.

• 05:29 PM: Simoni

  hits the five km to go mark 59 seconds behind Sella.

• 05:30 PM: Rodriguez

  comes through 20 seconds behind Simoni and the Contador group comes through at 1:50 behind Sella.

• 05:31 PM: Time gaps

  with 4km to go:
  
  Sella leads
  
  Simoni at 57
  
  Rodriguez at 1:08
  
  Contador group at 1:47
  
  Di Luca and Karpets at 4:50

• 05:33 PM: Sella

  is now less than 1km from the finish.

  He won't be caught, so it looks like Sella will win his third Giro stage

• 05:34 PM: Sella

  has time to zip up... look pretty for the cameras and celebrate. Three fingers aloft. He wins.

• 05:37 PM: Simoni

  Crosses the finish line at 1:04.

  Rodriguez comes in at 1:21 for third

  Van den Broeck crashes into Pozzovivo... someone goofed up, but the GC boys make it through unscathed. Van den Broeck is giving the little Italian a classic WTF?!?!? look.

• 05:38 PM: Tick, tick, tick

  Di Luca is still riding. He's clearly lost his podium spot. Remember, he started the day 21 seconds out of first.

• 05:44 PM: Di Luca

  finishes behind Karpets 5:27 behind Sella and almost four minutes behind Contador.

  Results
  1. Emanuele Sella (I), CSF-Navigare, 224km in 6:52:45
  2. Gilberto Simoni (I), S.Diquigiovanni, at 1:04
  3. Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Sp), Caisse d'Epargne, at 1:22
  4. Riccardo Ricco (I), Saunier Duval, at 1:30
  5. Alberto Contador (Sp), Astana, at 1:30.

  For the top two, the GC picture remains unchanged, so it all comes down to tomorrow's time trial. Contador fought off his big challenges today and yesterday, so Ricco will have to pull out a miracle ride tomorrow if he wants to win this.

  1. Alberto Contador (Sp), Astana
  2. Riccardo Ricco (I), Saunier Duval, at 0:04
  3. Marzio Bruseghin (I, Lampre, at 2:00
  4. Franco Pellizotti (I), Liquigas, at 2:05
  5. Emanuele Sella (I), CSF-Navigare, at 2:35
  6. Denis Menchov (Rus), Rabobank, at 2:47
  7. Danilo Di Luca (I), LPR, at 4:18
  8. Jurgen Van Den Broeck (B) Silence-Lotto, at 4:26.

  Well, welll, well... an interesting day. Thanks for tuning in. We'll be back tomorrow with Live Coverage of the final stage, a 23.5-kilometer individual time trial from Cesano Maderno to Milan.

  It's a two-man race now, folks. It should be interesting. See you tomorrow.

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